Wednesday, March 4, 1998
Associated Press
Hawaii's Michael Robinson (4) and Erin Galloway (00)
try to block a shot by UNLV's Kaspars Kambala last night.
Rebels bust ’Bows
The first-round WAC defeat
By Cindy Luis
all but ends UH's hopes of
an NCAA berth
Star-BulletinLAS VEGAS -- The Pacific Division teams were churning through yesterday's opening round of the Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Two favored Mountain Division teams -- Wyoming and Colorado State -- saw their NCAA Tournament chances dunked as the Cowboys and Rams slid off the bubble and into the NIT pit.
But making the biggest splash with an early exit was the one Pacific team that was overwhelmingly favored -- Hawaii, which had ridden the crest of a five-game winning wave into the conference tourney.
The Rainbows wiped out last night against UNLV, 64-59, effectively wiping out their chances for an NCAA Tournament invite as they slipped to 19-8.
The odds aren't good that the NCAA Selection Committee will make a long-distance call to Hawaii this Sunday. The best the Rainbows can hope for is hosting NIT first- and second-round games sometime next week at the Stan Sheriff Center.
"I think we still have a chance to go to the NCAAs," Hawaii senior guard Anthony Carter said. "We'll go back to Hawaii (today) and then wait until Sunday. If it's the NIT . . . it's not good, but we still want to keep playing.
"We're still on a mission and we can't hold our heads down. We wanted to come in and get our 20th win. Losing this hurt a lot."
The pain began early in the game, when Carter reaggravated a muscle pull in his back. The senior guard asked to come out with 11:04 left in the first half and Hawaii leading, 20-15.
Carter returned with 5:22 left in the half, but clearly didn't have his normal quickness on defense. The Rainbows saw their 29-24 lead shot down, thanks to the perimeter shooting of Brian Keefe, who hit two 3-pointers and a banker at the buzzer to put UNLV ahead, 35-31.
"To tell you the truth, I couldn't even make a layup,'' said Carter, who finished with seven points and six assists. "I tried to play through it, but I wasn't able to penetrate like I normally do and that means that Alika (senior guard Alika Smith) wasn't getting the shots he normally gets. That's a big part of our game."
Smith hit his first five shots and had 12 points by halftime. He scored just once in the second half, a 3-pointer that cut UNLV's lead to 54-51 with 5:37 remaining.
The Rainbows didn't score again until there were 88 seconds left. Carter hit a basket to cut it to 60-53, but Hawaii could get no closer than five as four free throws sealed the Rebels' third win in a row, earning them a quarterfinal date tomorrow with No. 5 Utah.
"If you had asked me to bet on the game, I couldn't have picked a winner," Utah coach Rick Majerus said. "But I can tell you I'd rather not play someone on their home court.
"It's one of the reasons I don't like the tournament. Another is, in my opinion, we should get four to five teams in the NCAA Tournament. I think that those fourth and fifth teams just played their way out of the tournament. I hope that's not the case. I just congratulated (Alika) Smith on his career. They've got good wins to hang their hats on, but it's going to be difficult to make a case for anyone besides the three of us (Utah, TCU and New Mexico) who are already in. I don't know if anyone else can win this tournament."
The WAC's automatic bid will be decided Saturday. The lobbying has already begun to get other conference teams into the NCAA Tournament, a field that has never included more than three WAC teams.
"Of course, I think Hawaii deserves to go," WAC Commissioner Karl Benson said. "But it doesn't matter what I think."
Hawaii coach Riley Wallace remained here today to continue his postseason lobbying efforts, either for the NCAA or NIT. He will join the team in Honolulu for Friday's practice.
"I still think if they take a fourth WAC team, it will be us," said Wallace, whose team lost to UNLV in overtime here in the second round of last year's NIT. "We're still ahead of Wyoming and Colorado State (in the RPI) and we've had the toughest preseason schedule.
"The only other team that could hurt us is Tulsa if they continue to advance. They were hot at the end, too."
Wallace said he thought his team looked tired after its eighth straight day on the road. Carter's injury was a factor, and Michael Robinson didn't start after missing curfew Monday night. Hawaii had won its last five with Robinson starting in place of Eric Ambrozich.
"But I will not make excuses for this team," Wallace said. "They played their hearts out, but UNLV played a little harder."
Robinson and Erin Galloway each added 12 points for Hawaii. Keefe led UNLV with 19 points, 12 above his average, and Tyrone Nesby added 17.
"I hope Hawaii gets consideration," said UNLV coach Bill Bayno, whose team improved to 17-12. "The WAC just doesn't get the credit it deserves. Hawaii beat Kansas, they crushed Nebraska, they won five in a row before tonight. They came in here and played well enough to win.
"But there are not many bubble teams in the country, not even in the ACC, who would have come in here and beat us tonight. Our kids wanted this one."
At Las Vegas Box Score
UNLV 64, Hawaii 59
Runnin' Rebels (17-12 overall)
mp fgm fga ftm fta reb pf tp Simmons 35 3 9 3 7 5 3 9 Nesby 36 7 17 2 2 8 2 17 Kambala 27 2 4 2 4 4 2 6 Keefe 37 7 14 0 0 5 3 19 Dickel 39 1 2 5 9 4 2 7 Stewart 6 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 Daniels 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Epps 16 2 3 0 1 8 1 4 Team 4 Totals 200 23 50 12 23 38 13 64
mp fgm fga ftm fta reb pf tp Galloway 39 5 8 2 3 5 2 12 Kroeger 38 2 7 2 3 10 4 6 Ambrozich 13 1 4 0 0 0 4 2 Smith 38 6 11 0 0 1 2 15 Carter 32 3 11 1 2 4 4 7 Robinson 24 5 12 2 2 3 4 12 Cartwright 14 2 5 0 0 1 1 5 Zivanovic 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Team 7 Totals 200 24 58 7 10 31 22 59Key: mp-minutes played. fgm-field goals made. fga-field goals attempted. ftm-free throws made. fta-free throws attempted. reb-rebounds. pf-personal fouls. pts-points scored.Halftime score--UNLV 35, Hawaii 31.
3-point goals--UNLV 6-19 (Keefe 5-11, Nesby 1-6, Simmons 0-2), UH 4-18 (Smith 3-7, Cartwright 1-2, Robinson 0-1, Carter 0-4, Kroeger 0-4).
Assists--UNLV 13 (Dickel 9), UH 16 (Carter, Kroeger 6). Turnovers--UNLV 12, UH 10. Steals--UNLV 6 (Dickel 3), UH 8 (Galloway 3). Blocked shots--UNLV 2 (Dickel, Epps), UH 2 (Galloway, Robinson).
A--13,878. Officials--Scott Thornley, Dan Chrisman, Brent Smith.
Early exits
Hawaii's first-round losses in the WAC Tournament (since 1983-84):
* Denotes forfeit by UTEP for using an ineligible player
1997-98 Rainbow Men's Basketball Schedule
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
